My Plant-Based Family

Feeding My Family a Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet, On a Budget

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Multi-Grain Breakfast Bowl…Goodbye Oatmeal

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Last week I shared our recipe for Overnight Chia Porridge and the fact that most of our household has a sensitivity to oats. You know I love oats. If you’ve followed my Free Meal Plans for a while you also know I ate oatmeal almost every morning for months at a time.

multi-grain breakfast bowl is vegan and gluten free

I had to say goodbye to oatmeal, at least for now, but I really needed a whole grain replacement. If I don’t have a hearty breakfast I’m more likely to skip it all together then make poor choices later in the day.

Every time I make this Breakfast Bowl it tastes different. Sometimes I use brown rice, sometimes quinoa or other grains. Often I’ll mix up several different leftovers. My kids like to eat this cold but I prefer to heat it up before adding the fruit. It’s easy enough that everyone can have it their own way. I guess I should have named it Multi-Grain Breakfast Buffet Bowl.

multi-grain breakfast bowl is vegan and gluten free

Multi-Grain Breakfast Bowl

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups of cooked grains (brown rice, quinoa, millet, amaranth, etc.)
  • 1/2 cup of fruit (blueberries, diced apples, bananas, raisins, etc.)
  • a little sweetener (I like maple syrup)
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
  • OPTIONAL 1/4 cup Overnight Chia Porridge
  • OPTIONAL nuts or seeds

Do

  1. Heat grains if you want a hot cereal.
  2. Mix in remaining ingredients and stir well.

Serve

This can be made ahead of time and stored in individual portions for quick breakfasts.

I love how easy it is to make using leftover grains.

For more inspiration check out my Plant-Based Breakfast Board on Pinterest or my Breakfast Page.

Overnight Chia Porridge

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When we learned that half of our household had a sensitivity to oats our oatmeal consumption went way down. For a while we replaced that with toast and cereal but both were much more expensive that oats, especially since we had to buy gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free versions. That is when we embraced Overnight Chia Porridge.

Vegan and Gluten-free overnight Chia Porridge

I’m no stranger to chia seeds and I’m not talking about chia pets. We’ve been eating chia seeds regularly since the beginning of our plant-based journey. In fact, in our house we call them “sprinkles” and I keep them in a little shaker bottle. My boys get sprinkles on almost everything they eat. When they hear other kids talking about sprinkles they will chime in because they eat sprinkles too. (yes, I have lots of evil tricks like this)

Vegan and Gluten-free overnight Chia Porridge

Overnight Chia Porridge

Ingredients

Do

  1. Pour seeds into a jar with a leak-proof lid.
  2. Pour milk over seeds, tighten lid and give it a good shake.
  3. Wait about 15-20 minutes then give jar another good shake.
  4. Store overnight in the refrigerator.

Serve

The chia (and hemp seeds) will absorb the milk and you’ll be left with a full jar of firm porridge. I typically use a few tablespoons of porridge and mix it with grains and fruit.

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Meal Plan Monday: Summer Meal Routine

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Does your cooking style change in the summer? I like simple all year-long but in the summer I DO NOT want to spend time in the kitchen and I pretty much refuse to turn on the oven. I’ll occasionally make an exception, but rarely.

I also take advantage of batch cooking. For example I’ll cook a large pot of quinoa without any seasoning to be used for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I double batch of Mexican Rice will find its way into burritos, salads and as a side dish. The Crock Pot comes in handy for beans to be used in most meals.

Meal Plan Monday! Vegan and gluten-free Meal plans!

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Breakfast

I’ve been embracing chia seeds at breakfast but most days are cold cereal. I’ll often sprinkle chia on whatever we are eating.

  • Chia porridge with maple syrup and fruit.
  • Toast with WOW Butter and apple slices.
  • Cereal and rice milk
  • Breakfast Rice with raisins and diced apples
  • Breakfast Quinoa with blueberries and chia seeds

Lunch

Batch cooking saves lunch time every day. Most of the time I don’t even reheat the food because my kids like leftovers cold.

Dinner

I’m all about ease and keeping the house cool these days. Most of these dishes are quickly mixed together for a meal. I cook large batches of foods, like Mexican Rice, to use in multiple dishes throughout the week.

My kids are eating lots of fruit and some veggies for snacks. The top picks this week are apples, blueberries, grapes, nectarines, apricots, cherries, plums, bell peppers, cucumbers and carrots.

My kids are allowed to eat fruit almost any time. If they still have a meal on the table they may have to eat it first but raw fruit and veggies between meals is the norm. We don’t often have chips, crackers, or other processed foods available.

What do meals look like in your house during the summer?

Mexican Rice

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This Mexican Rice recipe has been a family favorite for years! In fact, it is one of the first recipes I posted here and one of the first recipes my husband taught me to make when we got together.

Mexican Rice

I’ve seen this recipe discussed in online communities and while everyone said it was delicious some insisted it should be called Spanish Rice instead of Mexican Rice. If you have time to kill, feel free to google the difference, everyone has an opinion and everyone insists they are right.

This recipe was adapted from the recipe my husband grew up eating. When I started making it I removed the oil and started measuring the ingredients. At the time we lived in the South where Tex-Mex reigns. You can add optional veggies like onion, peas and carrots. I usually leave them out due to forgetfulness and ease.

I love adding cilantro though! Some people hate cilantro and that’s OK, it doesn’t need it.

When we started eating plant-based, I started making this with brown rice. It takes about 40 minutes to cook brown rice. Lately I’ve been making it with white rice because it cooks in only 20 minutes!

Mexican Rice

This recipe can be made with basic pantry staples and can serve 4 generously as a side dish. I’ll warn you though, if there is a little left it is really hard to save the leftovers without eating it straight from the skillet.

I love using it to meal prep because it reheats so well! I eat it plain with beans, in Taco Salads, Burritos and just about anything else you can think of.

Mexican Rice

Plant-Based Mexican Rice

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups of water
  • 1 cup of short grain brown rice (or use long grain white rice for a quicker recipe)
  • 8 oz tomato sauce (you can make do with 6 oz if you need the extra 2 for Lentil Tacos)
  • 1 tsp salt (optional)
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • handful of chopped cilantro, optional

Do

  1. Dump all of the ingredients except cilantro (is you are using it) into a skillet and turn on medium heat.
  2. Cover skillet with a lid and set timer for 45 minutes. OR, if using long grain white rice, cook for 20 minutes.
  3. When timer beeps give the rice a good stir. If liquid remains remove lid and let the rice cook a few more minutes to allow liquid to evaporate.

If using cilantro toss it on top and cover with the lid for a few moments.

Serve

This Mexican Rice is the perfect side dish to tacos, but can also be used in a Bean and Grain Bowl, burritos, or Taco Salad.

If you are looking for more delicious Mexican inspired recipes take a look at my Mexican Food Page or my Pinterest Board for Plant-Based Mexican Food.

Get out of the rut with a Plant-Based Allergy Friendly Meal Plan

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If you’ve been in a cooking run summer is the perfect time to break out of it. I hope you’ve noticed the new summer fruit and veggies that are available this time of year. We just bought our first bag of plums, last week it was apricots. Instead of reaching for an unhealthy snack choose seasonal fruit. Make sure you buy extra and keep some in the freezer for smoothies.

If you struggle to get more fruit in your diet try a piece of fruit with every meal and reach for fruit in place of dessert.

For those of you who struggle to include enough veggies throughout the day try adding salads to your meals. Make sure to include your favorite seasonal veggies. Follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for more ideas. If you really aren’t a salad person and can’t be persuaded try raw veggies and a good veggie dip.

Meal Plan for a plant-based diet! It's also gluten-free and nut-free! Perfect for anyone trying to eat healthy this summer!

Plant-Based Allergy Friendly Meal Plan

Breakfast

  • Chia Seed Breakfast Bowl
  • Smoothies
  • Apples with WOWBUTTER
  • Cereal
  • Baked Potatoes

Lunch

  • Dinner Leftovers
  • Veggie Sandwiches
  • Taco Salad
  • Soup and Salad or Baked Potatoes

Dinner

I’ve got a few more ideas too like a Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler or maybe Chocolate Pudding Pops.

What are your favorite summer fruit and veggies?

I also want to thank each of your for the incredible support concerning my Open Letter. I’m still trying to respond to all of the messages, comments, and social media shares.The message of the Open Letter has touched so many of you personally. Thank you all for helping to spread awareness and save lives!

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Last Week of School Meal Plan

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This is the last week of school in our area. Next week kids in our area will  be running wild. It will be short-lived because it is too hot so most kids stay inside playing video games all summer. We gear up for swimming lessons at the beginning of June. My kids sleep really well while they are taking swimming lessons.

As summer begins (temps are already over 100 degrees) it becomes really important to keep the kitchen cool. I try to avoid the oven unless it is something I can cook early in the day. Most of our meals are either made on the stove, in the crock pot or served cold. Don’t forget about the grill though. You don’t have to be a meat eater to enjoy your grill this summer.

Meal plan

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Breakfast

Even though it is easier to serve cereal spending a little more time on breakfast is well worth it.

Lunch

We love leftovers for lunch, especially when we can make something “different” from the previous dinner. Switching veggies can transform a meal or adapt a salad to a wrap.

Dinner

The Taco Muffins are the most difficult meal planned for dinner and I made it yesterday (in a loaf pan). I like to have an easy meal planned for Monday’s. This week I may even dig into my stash of canned beans to save a little time. I’m neck-deep in work but we still have to eat.

 

Over the weekend I was featured in a guest post about my ebook, The Plant-Based Diet Starter Guide. Read the guest post HERE! There is also a discount code for 25% off the PDF version. If you’ve been waiting to purchase my book, now is the perfect time.